2nd Canadian Book Club Challenge-#1-- Margartia Nights---British Columbia

This was a very quick read for me. Phyllis Smallman is a new Canadian Crime Writer. I rather enjoyed this book. I like murder mysteries, and this one was fun to read because of the characters that she created in her book. I met this author at the Book Expo in Toronto, as she was signing with Louise Penny, another Canadian crime writer. Both women were very enjoyable to talk with. I would gladly pick up another of her books, so hopefully she will keep writing.
Her main character Sherri is a bartender in Florida. She is separated from her husband Jimmy Travis. When Jimmy's boat blows up, she becomes the main suspect in the police's investigation. Sherri does some investigating on her own with a wee bit of help from her friends. If you like murder mysteries, then there is something for everyone in this novel.
Enjoyable read for me.

The 2nd Canadian Book Club Challenge. #2-Ontario--The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart

This novel begins with the last days of Robert Browning and also ends with him. The book is set in Niagara Falls Ontario, summer of the year 1899. It centers on 4 main characters. David, an historian and his wife Fleda, who decide to live by the falls. David is obsessed with military history, especially Laura Secord. Fleda is obsessed with the poet Robert Browning and the whirlpool (at the botttom of the falls. Patrick, a poet, comes to Niagara Falls and befriends David, so that he can get close to Fleda. He has secretly been watching her, while she reads poetry and gazes at the whirlpool.
The widow Maude manages an undertaking business. She is very methodical in everything she does. She waits for the impending suicides and accidently deaths that she knows will be coming. From each body she keeps their effects. These are the poor unfortunate souls who have tried to ride the falls or swim the whirpool and have failed. Her poor son, since his father died is believed to be touched in the head and mute. He can say some words. He knows alot more than people think.
All of these people end up bound in some way to each other and bound by the Whirlpool itself. Very different, yet enjoyable read. I recommend this book highly.

Mary Ellen--#1--Canadian Authors--British Columbia-- Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

I loved this book. It is a beautifully written account of what could have occurred during the siege of Sarejevo. The Cellist of Sarejevo did exist. Twenty-two people, waiting to buy bread, were killed. 70 others were injured. This happened at 4 in the afternoon on May 27th, 1992. These people had been struck down by several mortar shells. Because of this and the actions of our Cellist who saw this unfold before him, this novel came to be. Told in three people's perspectives of the days following these events, this is their story . It is well worth the read.

More Canadian Authors: Mystery and Crime Writers

Here are some more Canadian authors for those of you who like mysteries and crime novels.

Check them out at--

http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/bios.html

Let the games begin!!!

Canadian Authors--- Nunavut

Nunavut-
John Bennett and Susan Rowley (Editors and compilers)----- Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut (Non-fiction)

Pierre Berton------ The Arctic Grail (Nonfiction) He wrote many non-fiction titles about the Yukon and the far north (he can be used for Nunavut or the Yukon—the choice is yours.

Jan Brett------ Three Snow Bears, Annie and The Wild Animals, Armadillo Rodeo, Beauty and The Beast, Christmas Trolls, The First Dog, Gingerbread Baby, etc.(Children's Books---wonderful stories and illustrations!)

Kenn Harper------ Give Me My Father’s Body : The Life of Minik—The New York Eskimo(Non-fiction)

James Houston------ The White Dawn, Whiteout, The Ice Master, Frozen Fire: A Tale of Courage, James Huston’s Treasury of Inuit Legends, Zig Zag, Hideaway: Life on Queen Charlotte Islands, Falcon Bow, Ghost Fox, Eagle Song, etc.

Michael Kusugak------ Hide and Seek, Baseball Bats for Christmas, Who Wants Rocks, My Artic 1 2 3, The Northern Lights: Soccer Trails (Children’s books), Curse of the Shaman (Young Adult) etc.
Tom Lowenstein (translator)/ Knud Rasmussen (compiled by)- Eskimo Poems (Poetry)

Robert Ruby------ Unknown Shore (Non-fiction), The Cayuse Indians, The Spokane Indians, The Guide to Indian Tribes Of The Pacific Northwest, etc.

Zachariah Wells------ Unsettled, Anything But Hank, Jailbreaks and Recreations: 99 Canadian Sonnets, etc.

Eric Wilson------ The Inuk Mountie Adventure (Young Adult), Disneyland Hostage, Vancouver Nightmare, Flywheel, Prairie Dog Conspiracy, etc. Eric Wilson has written many, many books for young adults.

Canadian Authors--British Columbia

British Columbia-


G.K. Aalborg----- The Horse Tamer’s Challenge (not released yet—2009)

Gordon Aalborg-----The Specialist, Dining With Devils (not released yet—2009)

Gail Anderson-----Dargatz—A Recipe For Bees, The Cure For Death By Lightning, Turtle Valley, A Rhinestone Button

Anne Barton------Evil in Their Hearts, Switch In Time, etc.

Jo Beverley-----(historical fiction) The Dragon and The Virgin Princess, Lady Beware, Rogues Return

George Bowering------ The Gangs of Kosmos, Rocky Mountain Foot, Burning Water, No Feather No Ink, etc.

Daphne Bramham---The Secret Live Of Saints,

Lynn Coady----- Mean Boy, Strange Heaven, Saints of Big Harbour

Kevin Chong------ Baroque-a-Nova, Neil Young Nation,

Wayson Choy-----All That Matters, Paper Shadows, The Jade Peony, Not Yet (not yet published—out March/09) Wayson Choy can be used for British Columbia or Ontario as he now resides in Toronto, where he teaches at Humber College.

Ron Chudley-----Stolen, Old Bones: A Mystery, Dark Resurrection

Douglas Coupland------ Generation X, The Gum Thief, JPod, All Families are Psychotic, Eleanor Rigby, Microserfs, Girlfriend in A Coma, Life After God, Hey Nostradamus, Polaroids from the Dead, Terry, Miss Wyoming, etc.

Margaret Craven----- I Heard The Owl Call My Name, Walk Gently This Good Earth, Again Calls the Owl,


Anne DeGrace-----Treading Water, Wind Tails

Vicki Delaney----- In the Shadow of the Glacier, Scare The Light Away, Burden of Memory, Valley Of The Lost

William Deverell----- Kill All the Judges, April Fool, High Crimes, Slander, Trial of Passion, Mindfield, The Dance of the Shiva, etc.

Denise Dietz-----Throw Darts at a Cheesecake, Chain a Lamb Chop to the Bed, Beat up A Cookie, etc.

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey-----Illegally Dead, Back roads of Alaska and the Yukon, Back roads of Northern Alberta, etc.

Stanley Evans----- Seaweed on the Rocks, Seaweed Under Water, Seaweed on Ice, Seaweed on the Street, etc.

Steven Galloway-----The Cellist Of Sarajevo, Ascension, Finnie Walsh: A Novel, The Journey Prize Stories

John Gould----- Kilter (Short stories), Herodotus, Maines Golden Road,

Jack Hodgins------ The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne, Broken Ground, Innocent Cities, The Macken Charm, Distance, Damage Done by the Storm, The Invention of the World, Spit Delaney’s Island, Honorary Patron, etc.

Roy Innes-----West End Murders, Murder In the Monashees

Anosh Irani------ The Song of Kahunsha, The Cripple and his Talismans

Daniel Kalla----- Blood Lies, Cold Plague, Pandemic, Resistance, Hospital, etc.

Joy Kogawa------ Obasan, Emily Kato, The Rain Ascends

Debra Purdy Kong-----Fatal Encryption

Evelyn Lau-----Runaway (Diary of a Street Kid), Treble, Other Women, You are Not Who You Claim, Choose Me: Stories, Fresh Girls, In The House of Slaves, etc.

Grant Mc Kenzie-----Switch ( not released yet—Jan/09), Avalanche on the Praires,

Susan Musgrave------ What The Small Day Cannot Hold (Poetry) Cargo of Orchids, Hag Head, Tarts and Muggers, Certain Things About My Mother: Daughters Speak, Impstone, Cocktails at the Mausoleum, Things That Keep and Do Not Change, etc.

BP Nichol------ The Martyrology Books 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,&9(Poetry), Continental Trance, Selected Writing: As Elected, Zygal, etc.

Kenneth Oppel------ Silverwing (Young Adult) Kenneth Oppel has written many books for young adults---way too many to list.

P.K. Page------ Planet Earth (Poetry), The Old Woman and the Hen, The Essential P.K. Page, The Filled Pen: Selected Non-Fiction of P.K. Page, And Once More Saw the Stars: Four Poems for Two Voices, A Grain of Sand, etc.

Kevin Patterson----Consumption, Outside the Wire: the War in Afghanistan In the Words of it’s Participants, The Water In Between: A Journey at Sea, Country of Gold, Country of Cold: Stories

Gayla Reid------ To Be There With You (Short stories), All the Seas of the World: A Novel, Closer Apart: The Ardara Variations, Keeping On Track: An Evaluation

Eden Robinson------ Monkey Beach, Blood Sports, Traplines,


Sharon Rowse-----The Silk Train Murder: Mystery of the Klondike,

Phyllis Smallman-----Margarita Nights

Frank Smith-----Breaking Point, Acts of Vengeance: A Mystery, Thread of Evidence, Fatal Flaw, etc.
Timothy Taylor------ Stanley Park, Story House, Silent Cruise: A Novella and Stories, The Buried Soul: How Humans Invented Death, Amanda, etc.

Audrey Thomas------ Coming Down From Wa, Real Mothers, Tattycoram, Songs My Mother Taught Me, Latakia, Mrs. Blood, Graven Images, Isobel Gunn, Two In The Bush and Other Stories

Michael Turner------ Hard Core Logo, American Whiskey Bar, Witchblade Tankobon vol.4, Witchblade Tankobon vol.5, Superman: Godfall, The Pornographer’s Poem, Kingsway, etc.

Sheila Watson------ The Double Hook, Once Upon a Horse, A Father’s Kingdom: The Complete Short Fiction, Deep Hollow Creek,

Canadian Authors-----Quebec

Quebec-

Hubert Acquin----- Next Episode, Hamlet’s Twin

Lisa Appignanesi-----Losing the Dead, Paris Requiem, Unholy Loves, Sanctuary,

Shauna Singh Baldwin-----What the Body Remembers, Tiger Claw, English Lessons and Other Stories, We are Not in Pakistan, etc.

Peter Behrens----- The Law of Dreams

Saul Bellow----- Humboldt’s Gift, It All Adds Up, Adventures of Augie March, Ravelstein, Dean’s December, Actual—A Novella, Seize The Day, Henderson The Rain King, More Die of Heartbreak, To Jerusalem and Back Again, Victim, etc.

Frances Brooke----- The History of Emily Montague, The Excursion

Nicole Brossard-----Museum of Bone and Water, Picture Theory, Mauve Desert, The Aerial Letter, She Would Be the First Sentence of my Next Novel, Notebook of Roses and Civilization, Fluid Arguments, Baroque at Dawn, etc.

Willa Cather----- Shadows On The Rock, Alexander’s Bridge, My Antonia, Death Comes for The Archbishop, My Mortal Enemy, O’ Pioneers, plus many more titles.

Roch Carrier----- The Hockey Sweater, The Basketball Player, The Longest Home run, The Flying Canoe, etc. (Children’s Books)

Anne Cimon-----A Skin Of Snow, No Country for Women, All We Need, Angel Around the Corner (poetry),Biography-- Suzanna Moodie: Pioneer Author

Leonard Cohen----- Beautiful Losers, Let Us Compare Mythologies (Poetry), Book of Longing, Stranger Music---Selected songs and poems, The Solitude of Strength, Dance Me to the End of Love, The Favorite Game, etc.

Romeo Dallaire----- Shake Hands With The Devil : The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda(Non-fiction), Seeking the Sacred: Leading a Spiritual life in a Secular World

Lauren B. Davis----- The Radiant City, The Stubborn Season

Mavis Gallant----- Home Truths (Short Stories), From the Fifteen District, The Pegnitz Junction, The Moslem Wife and other Stories, Paris Stories, Overhead in a Balloon, Across the Bridge, In Transit, etc.

Anne Hebert----- Kamouraska, Am I Disturbing You, Day Has No Equal but the Night, Burden of Dreams, The First Garden, Suit of Light, etc.

Rawi Hage -----De Niro’s Game, Cockroach (not yet released—Aug/08)

Naomi Klein----- No Logo, The Shock Doctrine, Fences and Windows, (Non-fiction), etc.

Gordon Korman----- Island: Shipwreck (Young Adult) Many children’s and young adult books, way too many to list.

Irving Layton----- Dance With Desire (Poems), Nobody’s Daughter, Gucci bag, Piecework, Love Where The Nights are Long, Love Poems of Irving Layton, Droppings from Heaven, Lovers and Lesser Men, etc.

Markoosie----- Harpoon of the Hunter

Yann Martel----- Life of Pi, Self, etc.

Colin McDougall----- Execution

Stuart McLean----- Stories From The Vinyl Café (Short Stories), Vinyl Café Unplugged, A Story-gram from Vinyl Café Inc., Welcome Home, 10th Anniversary Edition, When We Were Young, etc.

Kathleen Molloy-----Dining With Death, Rumbles in Arsedu Monde

Heather O’Neill----- Lullabies For Little Criminals, Two Eyes are You Sleeping,

Louise Penny----Still Life, Dead Cold, Cruellest Month, The Murder Stone (not yet released—released Oct/08)

Jacques Poulin----- Volkswagen Blues, Mr. Blue, My Sister’s Blue Eyes, Wild Cat, Autumn Rounds, Jimmy, Spring Tides, etc.

Monique Proulx----- The Heart Is An Involuntary Muscle, Champagne, Invisible Man at the Window, Sex of the Stars

Mordecai Richler----- Barney’s Version, Leaving St. Urban, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang, Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur, etc.

Gabrielle Roy----- The Tin Flute, Where Nests the Water Hen, Children of My Heart: A Novel, The Road Past Altamont, Street of Riches, Enchanted Summer, Hidden Mountain, The Cashier, Fragile Lights of Earth, Windflower, My Cow Bossie, etc.

Mairuth Sarsfield----- No Crystal Stair: A Novel

Gail Scott-----My Paris, Heroine, Spare Parts, Spaces Like Stairs,

Gordon Shepard----- Ha! A Self- Murder Mystery

Gaetan Soucy----- The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches, Atonement, Vaudeville, Immaculate Conception

Yves Theriault----- Agaguk, Ashini, Aaron, etc.

Michel Tremblay----- The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant, Forever Yours Marie-Lou (Play), The Driving Force, Some Night My Prince will Come, The Red Notebook,
The Black Notebook, Thing of Beauty, Duchess and the Commoner, Marcel Pursued by the Hounds, etc.